Slides, which have been referred to as idlers, have been used for some time to support conveyor belts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,593 issued to Boudreau on Feb. 15, 2005, discloses a slide referred to therein as a pad-type idler, for slidably supporting a continuous conveyor belt. The pad-type idlers are supported on a metal support above a base. When conveying a liquid-containing substance, e.g. in the food processing industry, the presence of liquid can result in drag (skin friction drag) which can cause the belt to slow down or stop.
The Applicant's previously filed, pending application, Canadian Patent Application No. 2,552,065 (the “'065 application”), provides a solution to the above identified problem in the form of a simple conveyor slide wear pad, which reduces or eliminates the accumulation of liquid on the slide, and consequently drag between the belt and the slide. This wear pad has a plurality of square-shaped grooves in its top surface extending between the leading and trailing edges of the wear pad's body, thus allowing for the discharging of liquid that falls onto the top surface. Thus, drag between the wear pad and the belt is reduced.
Notwithstanding that the square-shaped grooves formed in the top surface of the wear pad disclosed in the '065 application reduces the drag between the wear pad and the belt, the shape of the grooves may allow particulate matter to become lodged in the grooves, resulting in damage to the belt.
Known slides used to support conveyor belts, such as that disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,593, have the wear pad fastened to a crossbar of the slide through the use of fasteners such as bolts or plugs. The locking mechanism used to secure the fastener so as to secure the wear pad to the crossbar, includes nuts and cotter pins. However, this structure leaves the base of the plug or bolt, which extends below the crossbar, exposed and subject to being damaged.
An additional feature of known slides is the use of return slides to support endless conveyor belts. The Applicant's Canadian Application No. 2,517,766 discloses a return slide which incorporates a convex wear pad (or bowed upwardly perpendicular to the path of travel of the belt). The shape of the top surface of the wear pad substantially reduces wear on the edges of the belt. However, the wear pads lack durability and longevity when used with conveyor belts travelling at speeds of 200 feet per minute, or more.